Lamp-burner.



PATENTED 00T. 27, 1903.

c. BTGHES.

LAMP BURNER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2 5, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

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UNITED y STATES;-

' atented October 2"?, 1903.

PAT-NT LAMP-BURNER.

SPECIFICATION arming part vof Letters Patent No.V 742,175, daten october 27, 190e.

' Application iiled June 25, 1903. Serial No. 163,140. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES ETOHES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Muskegon, in the county of Muskegon.I and State of 'Michigam have invented a new and useful much difculty has been experienced in proptrimmed, so that a perfectly straight surface shall be presented parallel to the* mouth of the wick-tube. A very slight inequality or inaccuracy will, as is well known, cause the lamp to smoke, lfrequently blackening the chimney and causing much annoyanceA and discomfort.

By my invention I aim to provide means whereby whilel the wick is normally raised equally through the entire width thereof it is made possible whenever desired or found necessary to raise either edge of the wick independently of the other edge or, conversely, to lower-either edge independently of the other edge, thereby enablingthe flame to be equalized, so that a clear and even .flame may always result from the combustion of the oil raised by the wick.

To accomplish these ends in a simple, effective, and economical manner is the object of my invention, which with these ends in view consists inthe improved. construction, arrangement, and combination of parts,which will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings my invention has been shown applied to a lamp-burner of the ordinary well-known construction, comprising the base or body 1, having the wick-tube `2 and provided with aiiange 3, supported by means of integral brackets 4., of which in the drawings several have been broken away.

The flange 3 is for the purpose of supporting `the cap 5, which is connected with the base in the usual manner by means of a bayonetjoint. I desire it to be understood, however,

that my invention is capable of being applied to other styles of burner besides the one herein illustrated-in fact, to any burner of ordinary construction found in the market at the present day.

Burners of the class to which I refer are usually provided with wick-raising'devices in the form of shafts disposed transversely of the wick-tube and having toothed wheelsthat penetrate through slots in the latter and engage against the wick, so that by turning said shaft the said toothed wheels shall frictionally engage the wick' and move the same in an upward or downward direction, according to the direction in which the shaft is turned. Th'efshaft has here been designated 6, and it is shown as being provided with a handle 7 and with three spur-wheels, designated,re

`spectively, 8, 9, and I0,the central spur-wheel being designated 1 0 and the outer ones 8 and 9. It is usual to provide these wick-raising Y 'shafts with a plurality of toothed wick-engaging'wheels, especially when a wide wick is used, in order that said wick may be raised or lowered as evenly as possible, and I desire it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the use of three spur 'whee1s,` although it may be stated thatI prefer that an uneven number shall bey used, for reasons which will presently be more-fully understood. In the drawings hereto annexed-I have, as already stated, shown the shaft 6 equipped with three spur-wheels, this being sufficient for the purposes of my invention.

Ordinarily the wick-raising shaft is journaled in bearings which are formed' by pene- -trating or perforating the opposite sides of IOO By my present invention the Wick-raising shaft is extended through slots 14C in opposite sides of the iange 1l and closely adjacent to the wick-tube, which is provided with slots 15, through which the spur-Wheels 8, 9, and 10 project. The parts of the shaft 6 which extend through the slot 14 have bearings in loops or eyes 16 at the ends of a coiled spring 17, which passes arou nd one-half of the flange 11, being disposed in. the space between said flange and the flange 3, supported by the braces 4.

It will be observed that by the action of the spring 17 the shaft,with the spur-wheels thereon, will be forced in the direction of the wicktube, the spur-wheels projecting through the slots 15 being practically in contact with the unslotted rear wall of the wick-tube,provided, of course, that they are sufficiently large for the purpose. This, I wish to state, is the proper proportion of the parts. Now it will be seen that when a wick is inserted into the tube it will force the spur-wheels, as well as the shaft 6, in a forward direction against the tension of the spring 17. The tension of said spring, however, being equal upon both ends of the shaft, the pressure of the several spur-wheels against the face of the Wick will be absolutely even. In the drawings the Wick is designated 1S, and I have also shown the Wick-tube as provided in its front side above the slots 15 for the spur-wheels with indentations 19, each of which is formed by cutting a pair of parallel slits 2O in the wall of the tube and indenting the material lying between said slits until it will act in the nature of a spring upon the face of the wick, which while not affected as to the raising and lowering thereof will by these indented springs be retained securelyin adjusted position. These spring indentations are formed only above the slots 15, through which the outer wheels, in this case designated 8 and 10, extend. The reason for this will be presently stated.

As to the operation of the device, it will be understood that when a wick is inserted into the burner and the shaft 6 is turned by means of its handle the face of the wick will be engaged by the three spur-Wheels 8, 9, and 10, and the wick will be raised with the ordinary degree of regularity and evenness. The operation of the device will be even and perfect as long as favorable conditions are maintained; but in the event of the occurrence of unfavorable conditions-such as,f for instance, an eXtra-thick place or other defect in the wick or uneven wear upon the part of the burner-the result will immediately manifest itself by the uneven raising of the wick and the smoking of the lamp consequent thereupon. Vith burners of ordinary construction such difficulties can only be remedied by extinguishing the lamp and trimming and retrim mingthe wick until the proper, even, and full flame appears; but, as is well known, this involves more or less trouble, and frequenlly the lamp is permitted to smoke until it presents an unsightly appearance. By my improvement these undesirable conditions may be instantly remedied by simply rocking the Wick-raising shaft to one side or the other against the tension of the spring. In either case one of the outer Wheels S and 10 Will be Withdrawn from the slots 15 and from contact with the face of the Wick, While the opposite outer Wheel will be caused to bear against the face of the wick all the harder. By manipulating the shaft 6 it Will then be obvious that one edge of the Wick may be raised or lowered independently of the other side, thus squaring the edge exposed above the burner-tube, and consequently abolishing the conditions which result in the smoking of the lamp.

I have in the foregoing described the Wickraising shaft as being mounted in eyes formed at the ends of a single coiled spring, as this appears to me to be a simple and effective construction. I desire it, however, to be understood that I do not limit myself to this special construction, the object being simply to mount the said shaft in such a manner that the ends thereof adjacent to the edges of the Wick-tube shall be slidable in a forward direction from said Wick-tube and also be springactuated, so as to be forcibly drawn in the direction of the wick-tube. This, it will be understood, may be accomplished in a variety of ways, and I do not limit myself to a single spring or to any particular kind of a spring or to any particular form of bearings for the shaft, provided that, as aforesaid, the said shaft shall be capable of being moved independently or simultaneously at both ends in a forward direction from the Wick-tube and that means shall be provided whereby the ends of said shaft shall be automatically and normally forced in the direction of the Wicktube.

Iflaving thus described my invention, I claim- 1. In a lamp-burner, the combination of a wick-tube having slots therein, a horizontally movable shaft having Wick raising wheels extending into said slots and a helical spring supported horizontally at a distance from the shaft, havingits ends extended in the direction of the latter and provided wit-h eyes forming bearings for said shaft.

2. A lamp-burner having a wick-tube provided With slots, the walls of said lamp-burner being also provided with slots for the accommodation of a shaft having Wick raising wheels extending into the slots of the Wicktube, a flange upon the burner, a helical spring supported upon said ange and extending partially around the burner, and eyes at the ends of said helical spring, affording bearings for the Wick-raising shaft whereby either end of the latter may be tilted away from the Wick-tube.

3. -In a lamp-burner, a wick-tube having slots, friction-springs indented in said Wick- ICO IIO

tube above said slots, wick-raising wheels extending into the slots, a horizontally-movable In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have heretofore affixed my signa- Io shaft carrying said Wheels, and a helical ture in the presence of two witnesses. spring partially encircling the burner and having bearings for said shaft whereby it is drawn in the direction of the wick-tube and enabling said shaft to be rocked at either end in a direction away from said wick-tube.

CHARLES ETCHES.4

Witnesses:

F. B. MARSHALL, E. B. BANE. 

